nomination for president. >> the two front-runners separated by just a fees in the iowa caucuses. good evening. i'm dan ashley. >> and i'm carolyn johnson. it has been a good night for rick santorum in particular. >> and a bad one for newt gingrich with 99% of the vote counted mitt romney and rick santorum are separated by a 10th of a point. texas congressman ron paul is third. >> followed by former house speaker newt gingrich, texas governor rick perry and minnesota congresswoman michele bachmann. >> abc7's john alston has more on what has really been an exciting night. >> rick santorum seen as the big winner, but whether he has the money and the organization to capitalize on the strong finish is a question mark. also tonight we may have seen the beginning of the end of rick perry's candidacy. >> game on. >> rick santorum came from behind to find himself in a dogfight for the top spot of the iowa caucuses thanks to the support of the tea party and the other social conservative. >> we will be in new hampshire and we will leave tomorrow and spend our time there, and with

your help and god's grace we will have another fun night a week from now. god bless you. >> at more than 800 caucuses they gathered to write their preferences. when the votes were counted santorum was neck and neck with the better financed mitt romney. >> i will go to work to get america bark to work by making america once again the most attractive place in the world for job creators. >> and ron paul vowed to make his opposition to u.s. military intervention the centerpiece of his campaign. >> therent would be long where there will be election in new hampshire. and believe me this momentum will continue, and this movement is 2ing to continue, and we are going to keep scoring just as we have tonight. >> newt gingrich's campaign that had surged, but ran into money problems and a barrage of attack ads had to settle for fourth place, but the former house speaker says he will march on. >> the ultimate goal of the campaign has to be to replace

barack obama and get america back on the right track. >> texas governor rick perry says he will return to his home state and reassess his future. >> and with a little prayer and reflection i am going to decide the best path forward. >> california republican party chairman delcaro says it is a big victory for santorum. >> if santorum is not able to capitalize on how well he did in iowa by not raising money and building overnight infrastructure, maybe what people have been saying all along will come true which is a lot of waves would hit against romney's shore, but he will still prevail. >> now the primaries start next week, first new hampshire and then south carolina and florida before the end of the month. also tonight, a gop official says former nominee john mccain will endorse mitt romney as early as tomorrow. carolyn? >> all right, thank you, john. well, the iowa democratic caucuses also took place tonight. the outcome was never in doubt. nonetheless president obama

spoke to 250 democratic caucus sites like this one in des moines through a live video conference. he praised the caucuses for putting him on the road to the white house and helping him achieve a major goal. >> because of the work that so many of you did even before the caucuses four years ago, healthcare is a reality for millions of americans. seniors have seen the price of prescription drugs lowered. >> tomorrow the president will fly to the battle ground state of ohio to renew his push for boosting the economy. well, it is happening right now, a burglary suspect is hiding in the brush on telegraph hill in san francisco under coit tower. we have a live -- picture of the scene. police are stationed at the top and bottom of the hill and using a flood light to help in the search. officers spotted the suspect around 6:00 this evening. he jumped over fences to get away. police have made audio contact with him, and they are just waiting him out. he is believed to be

responsible for a string of condo burglaries in the area. power has been restored to thousands of pg&e customers after a fire knocked out power to customers. it sparked an explosion on san pedro road. part was captured on video and posted to youtube. fire officials say the building that burned contained two businesses and a residence, three men and two dogs that are homeless tonight. a victory for communities across california opposed to high speed rail. a new report out says the state not move forward with funding the controversial rail project. lisa amin go legion is live in -- lisa amin gulezian is live in palo alto with this report. >> they are one of the cities that opposes the high speed rail project that would connect sacramento and san francisco to southern california. should california's legislature authorize the use of $6 billion in bond money to start building a high speed rail system, a special

committee appointed by state lawmakers says no. its findings were released in this report late today. the committee wrote, quote, the fact that the funding plan fails to identify any long-term funding commitments is a fundamental flaw in the program. the entire project could cost $98.5 billion, and only 9 billion has been secured. >> we are really more broadly concerned on not just our interests, but really the interest of the taxpayers in the state and the other services that the state needs to provide. >> palo alto's city council opposes the bullet train project primarily because of the price tag. the original cost in 2008 was $40 billion. the committee's findings fuels their suspicions that the train isn't right for the state. senator mark desonia, the head of the transportation committee is a bullet train supporter. >> i don't think we are ready to say, put a stop to it. >> he also has several

questions involving funding and expenditures. but he doesn't want to lose site of the project as a whole. >> these are honest, legitimate questions that have to be answered and have to be answered in a short period of time. >> the leadership group also hopes the report doesn't derail the project. >> we would not want to see it just ruled out, out of hand because we know how strong high speed rail can be in other parts around the globe. our hope is that it can still work here in california. >> commuters meantime have mixed reaction to the committee's findings. >> we are talking about the amount of money, and it doesn't seem like it is worth the cost. >> we should try to raise the money to promote a greener environment by commuting using the public transportation. >> and later this month, both the legislature and the high speed rail authority will meet to talk about the findings of this report and what to do next. live in palo alto, lisa amin gulezian, abc7 news. >> thanks, lisa. in oakland, an occupy tee pea is still standing despite

an eviction notice from police. instead of taking it down as ordered, occupy oakland protesters moved the tee pea to the 14th and broadway site where it is standing tonight. a permit for the tee pea given to protesters more than a month ago was revoked citing the permit violations. it was to be affected immediately, and they are yet to force the protestors to take the tee pea down. a carjacking suspect is in custody after ramming four police cars and injuringseveralo escape. the carjacking happened at 11:30 this morning at a gas station at kinand mckee roads. the man punched a 68-year-old man in the nose and took his car. he is identified as 27-year-old alejandro gonzalez. after leaving the gas station gonzalez crossed over interstate 680 where officers say he rammed into a police car, seriously injuring an officer. the chase ended close to where it started, on mccreer re.

gonzalez rammed three more police cars before coming to a stop. officers tased him in order to take gonzalez into custody. a vigil took place for the five-year-old boy shot to death in oakland on friday. a small group gathered at 55th avenue and international boulevard where gabriel martinez, junior was killed at his parents' taco stand. witnesses say a man who just placed an order opened fire. police are continuing to look for that gunman. funeral services for gabriel are scheduled for friday. coming up here next, refusing to budge. the disabled man who would not leave his foreclosed home. >> and a jump start to the new year's diet. the one thing in food that leads to weight gain. and what snow surveyors found during their trip to the sierra today. >> and then late other "nightline." >> i'm terry moran. coming up exin, we have all of the latest results from the state that kicks off the 2012 campaign for the white house in our special abc news

coverage on the iowa caucuses. it is your voice, your vote. it is your voice, your vote. that's on eople chatting] it is your voice, your vote. that's on everyone, it's $37 a piece. paying with your smart phone instead of cash. that's a step forward. with chase person-to-person quickpay, you can send money directly to your friend's checking account. all you need is their email address or mobile number. don't worry honey, i'll show you.

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yebt -- a defiant man is refusing to leave his home. officials went to evict the man from his home, but he refuses to budge. >> do you feel like are you breaking the law? >> no, for the simple reason they didn't buy my home in foreclosure. they are stealing my home. >> when sheriff deputies came to evict secretary-year-old 11 -- leonard wilson from his home, she ran interference. she said she signed a lease on the property. >> we help people stop their homes from being taken illegally jie. she says there is a file and a delay of eviction. it gives him enough time to complete a forensic audit and prove he is a victim of predatory lending. >> when they took this home from me allegedly my credit score was 790. >> a $10,000 loan for a new roof got switched to a $60,000

second mortgage. >> and then they changed the house from a 30-year fixed to an adjustable. >> how are you not aware of this? >> i was not aware because they did everything through the internet. they didn't do anything where they came and asked me to sign. >> he says his monthly $2,000 payment ballooned to nearly $4,000 and every time he asked for help, the mortgage got sold, eight times altogether. his foreclosed home was auctioned off here on the steps of the alameda county courthouse and bought by the hmc opportunity fund. an attorney for the company tells me wilson was quite aware he was geting in over his head. but wilson says he will prove fake documents were manufactured when his forensic audit is completed next week. >> they are going to have to get a bigger crane to tear the roof off this sucker and then pull me out. >> do you believe you are right? >> i know i am right. >> in oaknd la, alan wang,

abc7 news. asian stock markets are moving higher on the heels of today's surge in the u.s. markets. the japanese markets started with the traditional -- began this year with the traditional ceremony. the nikkei gained 1% on the upbeat economic and u.s., and european data. the dow jones industrial average closed up 180 points at 12,397. that's its highest close in more than five months. the nasdaq gained 44 and the s&p 500 picked up 24 points. just in time to jump start the new year's diet. a new study suggests it is not what you eat, but how much. according to the findings, excess calories are the direct link to weight gain. it doesn't matter if the calories come from protein, fat or carbohydrates. the level of body fat increases by essentially the same amount among all of the participants of the study. the study will be published this week in the journal of

the american medical association. the the first snow day of the year found there is not a lot on the ground. the water content measure from today's survey was incredibly small, just one-7th of an inch, and it translates to 19% of normal statewide. it is just 13% of normal in the central sierra where this survey was taken. the lack of rain dates back more than a hundred years. it is dry everywhere. the lexington reservoir is at 36% of capacity. the cal fire has an outdoor burn ban in affect until further notice. >> and judging from what we are seeing in the weather department that, is not getting any better. >> it doesn't seem like there is any change on the way. sandhya patel is here now. >> no, no big changes are on the way. we are not expecting snow in the sierra and no rain in the bay area at least for the next 10 days. i looked at the extended models. the computer models are not indicating any wet weather coming anytime soon. the snowpack one year ago was

212% of normal. as the survey was done today 19% of normal to the north and 21% of normal. we just mentioned central sierra 13% and the southern sierra, 26% of normal. the department of water resources management are saying we do have good reservoir storage. right now we are still hoping obviously for some snow in the next couple months, and hopefully that will help the situation. from the heavenly camera, 8300 foot elevation, and this is just from an hour or so ago. there is no snow there. not a lot going on. just man made snow. but they had record heat in tahoe again today. the temperature in the lake tahoe area, 58 degrees. it is hard to get snow when you have record warmth. temperatures in the 40s and the 50s right now, and the fog is not quite as widespread as what it was like this morning visibility in most areas is doing just fine. san jose is reporting so fog

down to 5 miles. so do look out for patches of fog overnight tonight. mostly sunny and mild tomorrow. still no rain over the next seven days. so it is just to give you an idea what is going on. here is what is preventing the rain from getting here. it is a ridge of high pressure, and it is a strong blocking ridge. it is really diverting all of the storms to the north of us. the jet stream fast moving upper level winds and taking the storms that look healthy over the pacific and stealing them well into canada which is why we are not getting any rain or snow. and as we look at the extended computer models, there is no sign this ridge will break down anytime soon. no indications of wet weather coming any anytime soon. it has been dry winter so far. 29% of normal. santa rosa, san jose, san francisco running about 35% of normal. 37% of normal in oakland. and it has been pretty dry even outside the bay area. sacramento 34% of normal and ukiah, 44%. we are hoping those numbers actually go higher as we head

into the rest of winter. patchy fog first thing in the morning may slow you down. 35 in napa and 36 santa rosa, livermore, upper 30s around places like concord, vallejo, morgan hill. otherwise the skies should be fine. 23* are you going to check out the meteor showers, most areas should be just fine in the predawn areas. you may see some meteors. temperatures in the low to mid60s. 67 in ukiah. 65 in santa rosa and 60 for you in san francisco. palo alto, san jose, concord, around the monterey bay, a nice looking day. mild for winter. 70 in watsonville and 72 in salinas. here is a look at your accu-weather seven-day forecast. and it is mild tomorrow. a little cooler on thursday as a weak system passes to the north. it seems like a broken record. 50s, 60s in terms of our temperatures. a mild pattern through the weekend and beyond. >> all right. thanks, sandhya. a man who forgot his passport turns to technology to get across the border.

>> could this turn into a new type of travel document? the story is just ahead. [ cellphone rings ] hey honey! mom, we're dying. no you're not, you're just hungry. make some totino's pizza rolls. we don't have any! front... left, totino's. [ male announcer ] well done mom! less drama, more fun! totino's pizza rolls. guys... [ female announcer ] pillsbury cinnamon rolls with cinnabon cinnamon are an irresistible sunday morning idea.

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the weather is clear which is should be in most areas, you could be treated to a spectacular light show. the meteor shower is expected to peak from 3:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. nasa expect itself to produce 60 to as many as 200 streaks across the sky per hour. even if the sky is not clear there is still a way to watch the meteor shower. nasa has set up a live skycam raw on the web. you can find a link on our website, abc7news.com under see it on tv if you would like to check it out. a canadian man used some

ingenuity to get into the u.s. recently. he was ready to cross into the united states, but he realized he had forgotten his passport. instead of making the two-hour trek back to his house he went out on a limb and flashed a copy of his passport and driver's license he scaned on to his ipad. a slightly annoyed u.s. border guard allowed him through. it is important to know that digital copies are not accepted as travel documentses. he used his ipad image to get into canada when going home. it worked for him. >> he got lucky. >> so don't count on it. >> just take your passport. >> it is a one-time only deal. the a's decide to spend some money on one of their own. they are bringing cocoa back. and for how much? sports is next. [ female announcer ] these are the crescents you love on a holiday.

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the a's have been so busy trading away every recognizable face, it stuns you when they bring somebody back. but cocoa crisp, the outfielder will return for $7 million a year. the move and the price tag both surprising here. it is a two-year deal for cocoa for $14 million, and there is an option as part of his contract. for a team that is pinching its pennies, that's a lot to spend on a guy who hit .264 last year with eight home runs. he is good defensively and he could nurture some of the young kids. and at least the a's are bringing back a veteran who has actually played in the major leagues who we have seen and can do it. coco miller is back and miller is gone. -- cocoa crisp is back and miller is gone. he has some power, but not part of the future in oakland or san jose. she off to baltimore. the warriors are off to san antonio. that's where they will be against the spurs. they may have a new guard with them. coming off the bench and

expected to sign, nate robinson. the mighty might robinson won it three times. it is absurd. best known for his time with the celtics, the warriors need a consistent outside shooter. that's not necessarily nate's game, but robinson could inject more energy and scoring off the bench. if stanford could do it all over again, would you have to think shaw would put the ball in andrew luck's hands in the final seconds and said, go win us the game. stanford got conservative and prayed the price. after all, luck was brilliant. even after all that he lead him to field goal range if not andrew luck, who else would you trust in that situation? jordan williamson misses two kicks in the end and stanford loses to oklahoma state. was coming back for the season worth it, mr. luck? >> yes, it was worth it. not to say i enjoyed every moment because i didn't, but i

would never regret. t. i grew a lot as a person and a player and a chance to play a great college football game. definitely worth it. >> coming down to a kicker in over time. the same story tonight in the sugar bowl with michigan and virginia tech. it is going into ot. guess he forgot his sun -- sun tan lotion. robinson on the escape and heming way comes down with it. 45 yards and 7-6 wolverines. five seconds left and it is his fourth field goal. tied at 20. the first possession looks like a td pass and officials said he did not have control of the ball. they have to kick a field goal. he was four for four until right there from 37 yards out. he pushed it right. michigan, they try to win it from 37 yards. brandon bib gones stutter stepped on the approach,